4.5.1 Example Traditional XML

A schema describing this XML format is the Common Decision Exchange Protocol. The basic decision components are represented including the decision question, answer, options, and metrics in the form of pros and cons. In this example, an professor must make a decision about the topic for a research proposal. Two options are under consideration, Technique A and Technique B. The former has a couple advantages (pros), it has a short duration and is a high priority, but has a disadvantage (con), there are no current applications. Technique B has a disadvantage that it is not a favorite topic of this researcher. The decision has is currently in the "Information Gathering" state, and the basic info of who and where is provided. Unique identifiers in the form of URIs are provided for each component so that the components can be referenced and managed independently or combined as needed. So for example, the decision state or basic info could be referenced, rather than included, to save bandwidth.

One of the challenges with the traditional XML approach is that it is hard to dynamically combine information from different XML datasets, since XMLSchema usually prescribes the format of each schema. One way to overcome this limitation is to use, or convert to as needed, a more flexible and expressive markup format, such as the Resource Description Framework (RDF). RDF is based on a graph model where each RDF statement is a triple (subject - property - value) resulting in a graph model. Subgraphs can easily be combined into a larger graph and then queries can be formed using the standard SPARQL query language. RDF is another format useful for representing decisions. The same example as below, in RDF format, is shown later in the report.